


Caught

by JayceCarter



Series: Kinktober 2017 [6]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Kinktober, Masturbation, Not Canon Compliant, Size Difference, Smut, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 16:52:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12280587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayceCarter/pseuds/JayceCarter
Summary: Arthur's mate has run from him, but she can't run forever. When he finds her, she realizes he might not be so bad.





	Caught

**Author's Note:**

> Kinktober Day 6: Size difference, bonds, bondage (ended up doing physical restraint instead)
> 
> Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HERELIES! I wrote a longer one for today. :)

 

Arthur drank his beer as he watched the little spit of a girl smile at the ghoul she drank with. The ghoul was thin, small himself, and dressed in a stupid red coat. The girl had on a vault suit, glasses sitting crooked on her face, frames bent like they’d taken a beating but she couldn’t get them fixed.

 

So, this was his mate? This was the woman he’d spent months trying to find.

 

She didn’t look like much, if he had to be honest. She was probably pretty, beneath the layer of dirt all wastelanders wore. Her hair was pulled back and up, into a bun, and her cheeks had a red hint that said she’d either had too much sun or too much liquor. He’d guess the latter.

 

“You left me!” She shoved at the ghoul’s shoulder, words offended but face sweet.

 

“Sorry, sunshine, but you got little legs. Ain’t my fault you can’t keep up.”

 

Arthur frowned as he dropped his gaze to her legs. They were little. Damned, all of her was small, like a bird that could be broken so easily.

 

He flexed his hand around his beer, thinking of how he’d dwarf her if he ever touched her, if she ever let him.

 

Not that he expected she would any time soon. Hell, just to get here, in the same bar as her, had taken him months.

 

#

 

_Three Months Before_

 

Nora lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she exited the house, headed toward Concord like Codsworth had suggested.

 

220 years had passed? The number kept ringing in her head as her head tried to do the math, to think about each thing she’d missed, each thing she’d never get back. 

 

She winced, a strange feeling in her head, like concentrating was difficult.

 

_“Hello?_ ”

 

She spun, searching for the voice. No one. She was alone.

 

_“Hello?”_ It repeated, and she realized it was in her head. “ _Are you there?”_

 

She shook her head. No, too much, too soon. Too many things were changing too fast. She’d lost her husband, her child, her entire world, and now life expected to hand her a mate? She sunk to the ground, wrapping her fingers into her hair.

 

_“You’re upset?”_ Concern colored the voice that slid through her head as if it lived there.

 

It did live there now, didn’t it?

 

_“Go away,”_ she whispered back.

 

_“Breathe slowly. This is not a bad thing. I’ve been waiting a long time for you.”_

 

A long time? He had no idea what a long time was, and she hadn’t been waiting for him.

 

_“Tell me your name.”_

 

She shook her head as if he could hear that, before answering. “ _No.”_

 

_“My name is Arthur. Tell me where you are, and I’ll come for you.”_

 

No. Never. “ _No. Leave me alone, please.”_ She could almost feel his confusion, his frustration. So, he didn’t like he hear no, it seemed.

 

Nothing else came through that day, nothing but his frustration.

 

#

 

_“How do you use a stimpack?”_

 

The question surprised Arthur, causing him to jump. The sensation of someone talking in your head would never cease to surprise him, he suspected.

 

Still, his mate had reached out to him, and that was the first time in the day since the link had formed.

 

_“Why? Are you injured?”_

 

_“A little._ ” Pain accompanied the words.

 

_“Tell me where you are. I’ll come, immediately. I have vertibirds at my disposal, I can be anywhere in the Commonwealth in thirty minutes.”_

 

_“Tell me how to use one or leave me alone.”_

 

He curled his hands into fists, trying to wrangle his annoyance. _“Just inject it near the injury. The nearer the injury, the faster it will work. The injury will sting and then burn as is heals. That is normal.”_ He waited. When nothing else came through, he prodded. “ _Did you do it? Are you okay?”_

 

_“Yes and yes.”_ She hesitated, then a quiet, “ _Thank you,”_ was offered.

 

” _How have you never used a stimpack?”_ When she didn’t respond, he decided some manipulation worthwhile. “ _I did help you. Don’t you think you owe me some answers?”_

 

After another minute, she answered. _“I’m from a vault. I was frozen, a long time ago. Everything’s different now.”_ A sigh. “ _I don’t understand anything.”_

 

_“So let me help you. I can assure you, I do know this world.”_ Every ugly corner of it Arthur understood, had lived through, had bent to his will.

 

_“I can’t.”_

 

_“Afraid?”_

 

Another beat of silence. _“Yes.”_

 

#

 

Arthur tried almost nightly to speak to her. When she was upset, he’d talk her through it. She’d ask questions sometimes, when she couldn’t figure something out. He’d been the one to shout at her to run when she’d asked about the beeping.

 

Suiciders. A lesson learned.

 

He’d explained how to sew up a cut on her leg, how to target synths, how to hack terminals. He gave her history on the Commonwealth, on the factions.

 

He was with the Brotherhood of Steel. Even though he hadn’t admitted it, the way he spoke about them told her that much.

 

She’d met some other Brotherhood soldiers at the Cambridge Police Station, but she hadn’t told him. He didn’t need to know, since it would allow him to find her.

 

Only after leaving the station, when in a room in Diamond City for the night, did she approach the topic.

 

“ _Danse is nice.”_

 

Silence, suspicion, oh and look at that? Frustration. He was an easily frustrated man. “ _You were at the police station?”_

 

_“Yes.”_

 

_“So you know I’m Brotherhood?”_

 

_“You aren’t difficult to figure out.”_

 

_“And yet you are. I still feel no closer to catching you.”_

 

_“Is that what you want? To catch me?”_

 

Lust saturated his voice as it dropped low. _“More than anything.”_

 

_“What if I don’t want to be caught? Not now, not ever.”_

 

_“Then I have a very long time to convince you otherwise.”_ Some of the lust drifted away, like he’d gotten onto a less pleasant subject. _“Why are you running from me?”_

 

_“Because I have things to do. Not all mates need to be together, you know. Plenty decide to just be friends, but you strike me as the sort of man who doesn’t accept that.”_

 

_“Fate does strange things, puts us in strange places, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong. I can assure you, fate has shaped much of my life. It hasn’t always been easy or fair, but is has always put me where I needed to be. I have to believe you are the same. Not easy, but what I need.”_

 

She sighed as she laid back in her bed, gaze on the filthy ceiling. His voice had become a comforting constant in her head. People said the voice you heard in your head wasn’t the same voice that came out of their mouth, but she wouldn’t know. Nate hadn’t been her mate. Many people never found mates, and more still found them but never pursued them. Some just became friends, some became nothing.

 

People said mates were hold overs from an evolutionary imperative to procreate. Two people who could speak to each other telepathically, who could sense each other’s emotions, had a better chance of survival. Once survival became less important, the idea of mates became an outdated notion.

 

Arthur sure didn’t seem to agree, and Nora wasn't sure what she believed. 

 

_“Are you afraid of me?”_

 

She laughed, a soft sound that still came out loud in the silence of the room. _“No.”_

 

_“Do you not like men?”_

 

_“I like men fine, though I’m not sure I’d like you.”_

 

That amused him. “ _I think I could convince you otherwise. Don’t think I don’t sense those dreams you have. You moan my name in your sleep, sometimes, through the link like you’re reaching for me. I don’t have to be so far away.”_

 

Fuck. Had she? She doubted he was beyond lying to get what he wanted, but he was right about the dreams, which meant it wasn’t so far fetched a notion she might moan his name. Enough of the dreams had featured him, a difficult notion since she had no idea what he looked like.

 

_“What do you dream about?”_

 

The darkness of the room, the intimacy of their link, it let her speak. “ _Us. Your hands on me, holding me down-“_

 

_“Holding you down?”_ A soft chuckle from him. _“Well, I didn’t expect you to admit that.”_

 

Her cheeks heated with his chuckle, and only part was embarrassment. The other? That confidence that said he not only liked the idea, but was sure he could please her. _“Why shouldn’t I? It’s not like you’ll ever get the chance to try.”_

 

_“Trust me, if there is something I can do, it’s give orders. I’ve been doing it my whole life. If that’s what you want, fate didn’t do so poorly with us.”_

 

_“Forget I said anything. It doesn’t matter.”_

 

_“Meet me,”_ he demanded.

 

_“I can’t.”_

 

_“I’ll find you. No matter how long it takes, I will find you.”_

 

_“Maybe. Until then, I have things to do.”_ The piece of Kellogg’s brain sat in her pack on the nightstand. To Goodneighbor tomorrow, to the Memory Den there. One step closer to finding Shaun, she hoped.

 

_“Like what?”_

 

_“I have to make a dead brain talk.”_

 

#

 

_Present_

 

Nora laughed as she shoved John’s shoulder, thankful again to have the evening to relax. After their work with Dr. Amari, she was worn out. As it turned out, reliving someone’s memories, the highs and lows of their life, was exhausting.

 

Maybe spending that time in the Third Rail with John wasn’t the best option, and it wasn’t even what she wanted. She wanted to lie down in the bed she’d rented at The Rexford and talk to Arthur again. She wanted to follow that same line of thought, to hear that voice in her head. She'd grown to want that time with him, like he were a friend, someone important to her.

 

He could whisper filthy things to her, tell her exactly what to do. Without a body there, in front of her, it felt safe. It was almost just another part of her own head, at least she could pretend that.

 

She shifted in her seat at the idea, tempted to say goodnight to John, to retreat and try to tempt Arthur into some fun.

 

“You okay there, sister?” John leaned in, sliding a hand to the small of her back.

 

“Yeah. Tired, I guess. I think I’m going to call it a night.”

 

“Need company?” John’s ruined lips moved into a grin, the same offer he made every time she was in town.

 

Not that she ever took it seriously. Well, he was serious, just not about her. He’d take anyone to bed who would let him.

 

“Thanks, Mayor, but I think I’ll go alone.”

 

Well. . . sort of alone.

 

Nora stood, then turned to leave.

 

Only, she didn’t make it a full step before she ran into the body of a very large man in a heavy brown coat. He caught her arm to keep her steady, and she had to take a step backward to look up into his face.

 

A scar ran along his cheek, shrewd eyes studying her in a way that made her want to drop her gaze.

 

“Sorry,” she muttered before pulling away.

 

“No problem,” he said, voice amused. That voice, it seemed. . . familiar?

 

She shook it away as she slid past him and retreated to her room.

 

#

 

Arthur rented a room, and for an additional fifty caps he was able to take the room beside the woman’s. Nora, as it turned out. The woman at the desk supplied the name for him. Finding her in Goodneighbor hadn't been a difficult guess. She'd mentioned a dead brain, and only one expert in the Commonwealth would have a chance of extracting information from a dead brain. 

 

Dr. Amari in Goodneighbor. Asking around for someone named Nora once there had him pointed down to the bar, and to the little vault dweller there.

 

Nora had stripped down and gotten into the bed if his hearing was any good, and his hearing was excellent. The first soft moan had his lips tilting up.

 

_“Comfortable?”_

 

The walls were so thin, he could make out the gasp and squeak of mattress springs as she sat up.

 

_“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”_

 

_“Really? You’re going to try and tell me your hand wasn’t just between your legs? Don’t forget, I can feel what you feel, and right now? You’re drowning in lust.”_

 

_“And if it was?”_

 

_“Then I want to know about it. Were you thinking of me?”_

 

The mattress in her room creaked again, then another soft moan. _“No. I was thinking of a handsome man I saw tonight at the bar. Don’t think for a moment I'd concern myself with you.”_

 

His smiled widened at that. He undid the front of his jumpsuit and settled in his own bed. His hand moved into his jumpsuit until he could grasp his cock, but he kept silent.

 

If he could hear her, she could hear him.

 

_“Oh yeah? Then tell me what you were thinking about with him.”_

 

_“He was big.”_

 

_“Do you like that?”_

 

A breathy sigh. _“Yes. I loved the way he towered over me. I’d have to get on my toes, and he’d still have to lean down to kiss me.”_

 

Arthur stroked himself, leisurely movements, in no hurry. Hearing the bed creak through the wall, the tiny moans, they made him in no hurry to be distracted.

 

“ _You’re touching yourself, aren’t you? I want you to slide two fingers into you. Not one, because a man that size wouldn’t have small fingers. So slide two into you and imagine it’s his finger.”_

 

A gasp, then a whine.

 

“ _What a good girl. Finger yourself, slowly. Don’t touch your clit, though, not yet. I don’t want you getting off until I say. How does it feel?”_

 

_“Good. So, good. Please, talk to me more.”_

 

_“So, you like my voice?”_

 

_“I’m pretending it’s his.”_

 

Good luck with that. Arthur shook his head as he sped his hand up a bit. Stubborn girl. _“Well, pretend all you want. I want your other hand on your breast. Play with your nipple. Harder.”_

 

A whimper this time. She listened so well, followed directions so well despite thinking she was alone. It had him close himself.

 

He wanted to walk over, to open her door, to pull her fingers out of her and replace them with his fingers, then his cock.

 

No, not yet.

 

_“Go on, come for me now.”_

 

His name slid through the walls on a desperate moan, and he let himself come at the same time. Neither spoke for a moment, both regaining their breaths.

 

Arthur grinned. “ _Did you say my name when you came?”_

 

_“No.”_

 

_“You are a liar, Nora.”_

 

The bed in her room squeaked, then the boards groaned. She’d stood. _“How do you know my name?”_

 

_“I’m a resourceful man. I told you I’d find you. I’m circling around you, and I promise, the next time you come, you can moan my name into my ear. Now, go to bed, Nora.”_

 

He didn’t relax until he heard the mattress one last time as she settled in.

 

His eyes slid closed, and he let himself sleep, his mate just beyond that wall.

 

#

 

Nora hadn’t slept so well since she’d been frozen. She wanted to say it was just the orgasm, but she didn’t care for lying to herself. It had been Arthur’s voice, that connection. In a world where she felt so adrift, he was something solid.

 

He was closer. She was sure of it, from the confidence in that voice. He thought he had her.

 

She needed to run. She’d gotten when she needed from Dr. Amari, which meant now she could head after Virgil. She needed to be gone, yesterday.

 

Fuck, she should have left the night before. Should have run the moment she’d realized he knew her name. It was only a matter of time before he tracked her down. The more she learned about him, the more she realized she couldn’t let him catch her.

 

He was too powerful, had too much going in his own life. He’d pull her in and she’d never finish her tasks, never find Shaun, never make the Institute pay.

 

“You running off so soon, sister?” John had his hat pulled down to cover his eyes just outside of the bar, telling her he was nursing a hangover. He’d probably stayed in the Third Rail damned near all night. Hell, with his rumpled shirt, he might have just been leaving.

 

“Yeah. Thanks for a fun night.”

 

He caught her arm, pulling her to a stop. “You got problems? You ain’t one to run, normally, and what you’re doing now? Yeah, that’s running. You need someone handled here in town?”

 

Nora smiled and pulled her arm from his grasp, though he didn’t try to hold it. “Nothing like that. I’ve just got a mission.”

 

“Sounds fun. Need company?”

 

“I work solo, you know that. I promise, next time I’m in town, I’ll stop in.”

 

He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Ya better.”

 

Nora continued in a quick walk around the corner and ran straight into the same man from the night before. “You wouldn’t get run into so much if you didn’t stand in the fucking way!” She pushed away from him and yanked her arm back, the arm he’d grasp to keep her upright. “You’re not exactly a small person, in case you haven’t noticed, so maybe you could stop standing in the middle of walkways.”

 

He chuckled, and she froze. That chuckle. . .

 

It couldn’t be.

 

“Where are you running off to?”

 

She shoved the paranoia away. She'd let him into her head and now she saw him everywhere. “I’m not running; I’m walking briskly because I have shit to do, not that it is any of your business.”

 

He moved to block her path. “And where is it you’re walking briskly to?”

 

“The Glowing Sea.” Maybe if he thought she was crazy, he’d leave her be.

 

“You’re going to walk briskly through the most dangerous and irradiated area of the commonwealth?”

 

“Will you be there?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then yes, that’s exactly where I need to be.”

 

He didn’t laugh that time, putting his arm out against the wall. It meant she either needed to walk around him or duck under the arm. “You aren’t serious, are you?”

 

“Completely.” She ducked beneath his arm.

 

“Be careful, Nora.”

 

The way he said her name had her nearly stumbling. She wanted to look over her shoulder, to catch one more sight of him, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

 

She left Goodneighbor at a speed that could no longer be described as brisk walking.

 

She was running.

 

#

 

Nora wiped the sweat for her brow as she put her back against the wall, trying to avoid the groups of ferals prowling far too close for comfort.

 

She’d picked off most of them, ducking for cover when they got too curious. Thankfully, her scope allowed her enough distance that they rarely ventured close enough to spot her.

 

At least, that was true until she’d tripped and sprained her ankle. Now she couldn’t switch positions fast enough, and the ferals were closing the distance.

 

She used the wall to help her walk, but the snarling of ferals behind her said she’d lost her cover.

 

Nora twisted, planting her back against the brick of a bridge she’d planned to cross under, and pulled her pistol. She lifted it up and took aim.

 

Bullet after bullet she loosed, taking down the charging ferals. When her gun clicked empty, she patted her thigh for another clip.

 

Out.

 

Fuck.

 

With no other choice, Nora grabbed the knife from her belt in one hand and slid the brass knuckles onto her other.

 

The final two ferals charged at her, but just before they reached her, two quick shots rang out and they fell.

 

Someone jumped from the bridge above, landing in front of her, heavy brown jacket something she’d never forget.

 

The man from Goodneighbor turned around, a smile on his lips. He set a hand above her, on the bricks, and leaned in until he was inches from her face. “Consider yourself caught, mate.”

 

#

 

Arthur smiled as Nora glared, her arms crossed over her chest. She was fuming, refusing to speak to him when he’d helped her back to the base he and his men had set up near the edge of the Glowing Sea.

 

“So, Elder is it?”

 

He turned after he locked the door behind him, closing them inside the room they’d occupied in the old building. “Yes. Arthur Maxson, Elder of the East Coast Brotherhood.”

 

She winced as she lowered herself onto the bed, foot out.

 

“Let me look.”

 

“I can take care of it myself.”

 

He removed his coat, slinging it over a chair, before kneeling down in front of her. “You, who had no idea how to use a stimpack? Just quiet down and let me tend to you.”

 

She opened her mouth to argue, but when she grasped the foot, a whimper took place of any insult.

 

“Easy.” He tried to keep his voice soft as he pulled her shoe off, hating the way she flinched. “Just sprained, I believe. The stimpack you were given will heal it by tomorrow. For tonight? Stay off your feet.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

 

Arthur lifted his gaze, his fingers sliding up her calf until he grasped behind her knees. “I wanted to know about you, first. You were less than forthcoming, so I needed to do some recon.”

 

“And last night? That was recon?”

 

“Well, recon is for information gathering, and I did gather information.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“ _Like you enjoy when I order you around? I heard you through the wall. Did you know that? You sound pretty when you moan like that.”_

 

She tried to jerk her gaze away, the intimacy of his voice in her head making his words all the more alluring.

 

“Eyes on me,” he snapped.

 

She lifted them so fast he had to smile. Despite being brave, and capable, as made clear by her tussle with the ferals, she submitted so well.

 

He had to admit to being impressed. Her aim was flawless with her rifle, and he’d even believe she would have managed to finish off the last two ferals if he hadn’t intervened.

 

He just felt being her rescuer might endear him to her more.

 

“I want you, Nora.”

 

“I have things I need to do.”

 

“Yes. I’ve heard enough about you by now. If you’re after the Institute, then you know The Brotherhood is your best chance. That’s all I’m asking for, a chance.” His hands moved to her knees, as he spread her thighs and slid forward, between them. With his height, he still was face to face with her, even when kneeling.

 

“And what’s in it for me?”

 

Perfect question.

 

Arthur leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. He whispered to her between kisses. “If you enjoyed me that much through the link, imagine how much better it would be with me.” He moved his lips to her jaw. “Right.” He sucked lightly on the skin over her pulse. “Here.”

 

Nora pulled in a shaky breath before setting her hands on his chest. “Wait. My husband-“

 

Arthur frowned, pulling back enough to see her face. “You’re married?”

 

“No. Not anymore. He’s gone now, but it hasn’t been that long.”

 

Ah. That made a bit more sense, her running, her pushing him away, her desire to not have a mate. “So, you’re mourning?”

 

“No. Not exactly. I’m not ready for this whole mate thing, for a relationship, for any of that.”

 

“What are you ready for?”

 

Nora curled her fingers into his shirt and yanked him forward, into a kiss more desperate than anything he’d tried before.

 

So, that’s what she wanted then?

 

That, he could provide.

 

#

 

Nora gasped when Arthur grasped her thighs and moved her up the bed in a hard jerk. He leaned over her, body blocking everything else out as he took her mouth in a frantic kiss. His hand roamed from its place on her thigh to her hip, then her waist, then up to cup her breast through her vault suit.

 

He took both hands and gripped her suit.

 

“Wait,” she said. “Don’t rip my suit.” It was a reminder of her past, one of the only things left from her old world.

 

He released her suit, gripping the zipper instead. He stripped her of the suit quickly until he got to her feet. He slid the other shoe off, then worked the fabric over her injured ankle gently.

 

His hands wrapped around her foot, surprisingly gentle given the size difference.

 

Once he had her naked, he spread her thighs and reached between them without a request. He slid his fingers over her slit. “You feel even better than I imagined, and trust me, I’ve imagined often enough. Keep your legs spread for me.”

 

He moved back and reached for his jumpsuit, unfastening the buckles. “I want you to touch yourself, just like you did that night.”

 

“Are you being lazy?”

 

“No. I just want to watch for a minute. Go on, two fingers, just like last time.”

 

Nora closed her teeth around her lip before she followed the direction. She slid two fingers into her, the stretch perfect.

 

He still worked at his jumpsuit, and she was thankful he hadn’t asked for her help with it. Still, his gaze was locked between her legs.

 

He got the jumpsuit off, taking the underwear with it, then crawled between her legs. His lips stroked against hers, hand toying with her nipple. “Get yourself ready for me.”

 

She nodded, returning the kiss as she moved those fingers, thumb brushing her clit each time. The scent of leather and gun powder filled her nostrils, and when he moved to kiss her throat, his beard scratched against her skin.

 

His hand wrapped around her wrist and forced her fingers deeper into her. “Faster, or you’ll never be ready to take me.”

 

Nora’s back arched against the feeling. He slid his hand along her hand, closing his around hers, and added one of his fingers to her two. It stretched her, and she shuddered.

 

“Do you like that?” He drug his teeth over her nipple, then tugged.

 

“Yes. Fuck, Arthur, yes.”

 

He grinned up at her before repeating the action on the other nipple. “I knew my name would sound good on those lips of yours.”

 

He continued to fuck her with both their fingers, and when she started to squirm too much, he used his knee to pin down one leg and his free hand to pin her other leg. His larger body restrained her so easily, so she couldn’t even lift her hips. He held her down, using her own hand to fuck her.

 

“Is this what you wanted? You said you fantasized about me holding you down, is this what you imagined?”

 

She grasped his other wrist with her free hand in a tight hold, trying to think, to stay centered as everything threatened to spiral away.

 

He released her hand, taking over the task. Two of his fingers filled her the same, and he twisted them to rub at her clit.

 

“I want you to say my name when you come, just like you did last night.”

 

The demand came out on a soft groan, and went straight to Nora's cunt. She came around his fingers, though he didn’t stop. He kept fucking her, thumb rubbing against her clit, though he slowed.

 

When she shuddered, cunt still squeezing around him in waves, he withdrew his fingers but continued to rub them against her slit. He did it like he couldn't help touching her, like he needed it. “We can stop, Nora. We don’t have to rush anything.”

 

Her lungs burned as she breathed hard, staring up into his face. “Please?”

 

Arthur draped his body over hers, stroking his fingers through her head. “You’re sure? With your husband-“

 

She reached between them to grasp his cock. “I’m sure. My husband is gone, and you’re not. Please, fuck me.”

 

#

 

Arthur’s hips thrust into her grip, unable to help it. It had been far too long since he’d had a woman beneath him, especially one this warm.

 

He raised off her and turned her over, a grip to her hip to maneuver her. She weighed nothing compared to him, and it made him want to lift her up, to fuck her against a wall. He wanted to use his strength on her, to haul her up against him. Instead, he pulled her to her knees, and pressed her chest to the bed. He pushed against her folds and filled her.

 

His deep groan filled the space. Damn, he’d missed this. The tightness, the wetness.

 

There was no magic bond, nothing spiritual, but some part of him still liked that she was his mate. He caught the edges of her feelings, the lust in her, the want that he stoked.

 

She missed her husband; he could feel it when she’d mentioned him, but she still wanted this, wanted him. At least for sex, and that was enough for him, for then. He could draw her in with sex and she’d eventually fall for him.

 

He set a steady rhythm, taking her deep, one hand on her hip, the other on the center of her back to keep her still.

 

Not that she seemed to want to go anywhere. Her hips shifted back against him, so he took the hint and took her harder.

 

He laughed at her insistence. “Not enough for you?”

 

“More. It’s been a while, too fucking long.”

 

“How long?”

 

“Two hundred years.”

 

He pushed her down, flat, and pinned her with his body as he thrust hard into her, pushing her into the mattress. “Guess we have a lot to make up for, don’t you?”

 

Nora reached one hand back, wrapping behind his neck to pull him closer.

 

Arthur felt his release approaching, his balls tightening, the bite of her nails in his neck sending him over the edge. He pulled from her, grasping his cock to stroke himself, leaning up. He came on her back, some on her ass, breathing hard.

 

A moment later, he grasped a towel from the floor to wipe her back off.

 

Nora hadn’t moved much, only pulled a pillow beneath her and wrapped her arms around it. She released a yawn as she squirmed, like she needed to get comfortable.

 

Arthur stared at her for a moment. He’d never really slept beside a woman before, always quick to keep things simple, to avoid attachments. His life wasn't one normally situated for messy things like relationships.  

 

But. . . he didn’t want to kick Nora out of the bed. Instead, he crawled in beside her and pulled the blanket over them both, then wrapped an arm around her.

 

“We’re not in a relationship,” she said even she leaned back against him.

 

“ _Of course not. Go to sleep._ ” He switched to speak directly into her mind. He missed the way they'd talk at night, something he'd been able to do with no one else.

 

“ _And tomorrow?_ ”

 

He kissed the top of her head. “ _Tomorrow, we’ll go to the Glowing Sea, together.”_


End file.
